Whether you are vampire, dragon, elf, shapeshifter, fairy, or a mundane (normal human) you'll enjoy news, gossip, deleted scenes, and flash fiction from two popular YA paranormal romance series, Sídhí Summer Camp and Song of the Sídhí.

Take a Look Around

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Friday I accepted a full-time job. Yay! I've been job-hunting for a while.

Unfortunately, this means I will not be writing full time.

All book release dates that I have previously posted are now inaccurate. I will try to release Forbidden Valley: Sídhí Summer Camp #2 by Christmas, but I can't promise. Both series and blog posts will continue, but at a slower pace.

I love writing! Unfortunately, those pesky little bills keep piling up! I'll keep tabs on Facebook & Twitter, but it will be limited.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The school year is about to start! Of course, a trip to the mall is an absolute must as teens search for that perfect outfit and accessories.

Like my best friend Kerry, parents are scrambling with last minute emergencies. I think Kerry does a grand job. She hands her daughter a visa debit card with a certain amount on it then takes Angela and her friends to the mall of the girl's choice.

Let me back up, before I tell you Angela's grand adventure, um catastrophe. - Yes, for a sixteen year old, it was a horrifying catastrophe! - You need a smidgen of background.

Angela is a vampire. She doesn’t act it, but she is gorgeous with hip-length white-blond hair and a body any movie star would kill for. She loves people. Her dark blue eyes literally sparkle when she meets a new person. As a side note, she handled the Sasquatch attack over last weekend tremendously well, much better than I did.

Anyway, she has never met a person she didn't like. She trusts everyone and lives life in a very carefree way. She'll try anything once. Her attitude is jump first, look afterwards because if you look first, you might not jump.

Poor girl might re-think jumping before looking next time.

Kerry took Angela and three of her friends to Oakland Mall in Branson, Missouri within Ozark Valley. Ozark Valley is predominately an elvish valley. The remaining twenty-five percent of the population is a mixed potpourri with vampires, dragons, fairies, and gnomes.

Oakland Mall is humongous. I mean it puts The Mall of America in the mundane world to shame. Three levels below ground and four upper levels above ground sprawl across an entire square mile. It has four motels, hundreds of restaurants and kiosks, an inside carnival, a water park that has tube rides going down the length of the mall and back, three movie theatres, a paint ball range, wyvern rides on the roof, putt-putt golf, half dozen arcades, a gateway terminal connecting dozens of valleys, and an uncountable number of retail outlets.

A family could spend their entire vacation at Oakland. The mall is a neutral spot where people from every valley are welcome to visit, no matter their race or political affiliation, without fear of attack. The mall guards deal with any attack swiftly and with severe penalties, including missing body parts, a silver collar, and hung by culprit's ankles in the courtyard.

Back to the story!

Angela's first mistake was visiting Maurice's Fairy Emporium.

Maurice's is a chain of fairy owned retail shops that carry a wide variety of beauty products, anything and everything imaginable is available. Do you want to have natural blue blushing cheeks, pink eyelashes, or glow-in-the-dark skin? Visit Maurice's and you'll find a fairy made product that will do exactly what you want.

Wait! That 'wait' is a major warning. Please, be sure to read the fine print on every single container even if they look identical.

Angela walked into Maurice's, exclaiming it was an awesome store. Never one to mix words, she voiced her disappointment when the clerk was a gnome and not a fairy like all the T.V. ads showed.

Well, that went over like a ton of bricks.

She told the shop clerk, a wrinkly faced gnome, she wanted to dye her hair to match the school colors. She's the newest member of the cheerleading team and wanted to make a great impression. Her words, not mine.

However, I'm sure she meant a great impression on the male half of the school body.

Her idea was actually great. She wanted a dye that she could wash in and then rinse out after each game. Too bad, she made the little gnome mad at her.

After she bought the dye, Angela and her cohorts went straight to the bathroom. The silver dye was a foam formula that rubbed into dry hair. The additional blue streaks were to be combed into the hair within five minutes of applying the base color.

Never trust a gnome that you've made angry. They are vindictive little people with a heart of mischief, a very dangerous combination.

The fine print on the bottle stated that the dry foam, unlike the liquid that had to be rinsed, was not to be used on a vampire.

They didn't read the instructions, covering Angela's hair in dry foam and rubbing it in.

At first, her scalp tingled.

Her friends added an inch-wide blue streak that curled around her face.

The tingling sensation began to itch.

Her hair turned silver, the streak of vivid blue intensified the color of her eyes. Looking in the mirror, she tentatively touched her hair in awe.

She grinned, eagerly combing her fingers through the silky strands. A huge chunk of hair came out! Paralyzed, she watched as the shiny silver strands slid through her fingers and floated to the floor.

Angela shrieked louder than a Sasquatch on a hunt.

Her friends jumped back as if she was contagious and stared in mounting horror.

Angela smoothed her hands over her head as if trying to keep it in place. Swaths of hair fell out. Suddenly, all at once, her remaining hair fell out. She stood, jaw dropped staring at her utterly baldhead in the mirror.

By the time her mom arrived, the other girls had gone after the gnome leaving Angela hiding in a bathroom stall. The gnome had disappeared without a trace.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

I'll apologize right now Sídhí History IV is extremely boring. This will be the final part of the Sídhí History series unless I'm requested to write more.

It took years, but eventually the synth crystal spread out like veins under the crust of the land, creating springs and underground streams. Each Spring of Crystal was unique; it absorbed characteristics from its surrounding environment.

I've seen copies of the Last Scientist's diary or 'scientific journal.' He never realized the synth crystal would absorb the elements surrounding it, changing each Crystal Spring in the tiniest way. He didn't know these tiny changes would create dozens of different races once people became infected with synth crystal.

Essentially, every Crystal Spring Changed the people within a specific geographic location creating a wide variety of synth enhanced races across the face of Sídhí.

The Elfhiem Empire - The eyes of the elves changed, not in shape, but in color. The iris grew until nearly no white showed and the pupil became larger. Their ears grew more pointed and a bit taller, becoming very sensitive to physical touch. An elf is marginally faster than most other races.

The Northern VamPyre - The vampires became walking weapons with fingernails that extended into bear-like claws. The slightly pointed canine teeth became retractable fangs. They now had the ability to suck blood. Vampires who lived primarily on blood had solid blood red eyes in direct sunshine. Those who ate solid foods had solid black eyes in direct sun.

The bite of a vampire has three outcomes. First, a simple bite that sucked blood from the victim. Second, a bite that injected venom into the victim and Changed that person into a vampire. Third, a bite between mates that injected a sexual stimulant into the mate's bloodstream.

The Shifting Highlands - The amber eyes of a shifter changed into various colors depending on the sub-race. The eyes of a shifter either glow or change color when emotions run high. Shifters received the ability to change their shape into a specific animal, growing stronger as they aged. Dragon, khatts, and werewolves are among the known sub-races.

The Atlantis Continent - The people of Atlantis had the widest changes and were not uniform at all. Called Fairy as a race, they have five castes: Royal, Warrior, Merchant, Artist, and Common. Among those castes are numerous sub-races including nymphs, sirens, & pixies.

Gnome Grotto - The eyes of a gnome became a uniform pale yellow. They have short, fuzzy red hair. The tallest among them are no taller than four feet. They are very slender with wrinkly faces, like a Shar Pei puppy.

The people of Sídhí have seven senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, telepathy, and instinct. The strength of each sense varies widely between the races.

Of course, there are also many anomalies, including teleportation. Several races can teleport including vampires and dragons.

This is not a complete listing of races or abilities that would be impossible for a simple mundane like myself to record.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

A quick catch up… Some friends and I, along with our beloved pets, were visiting Mordecai's Sasquatch Ranch for the weekend. To know more, read yesterday's post. J

Gorman, the Sasquatch, shrieked in fury as the water trough slammed down on top of his head. Water drenched his long fur. He looked like a nine-foot drowned rat with giant teeth and claws.

He threw a hissy fit, smashing the water trough to the ground. He stomped on it until it resembled a pancake. He took the pancake and threw it toward the visitors.

In Gorman's defense, I'm sure he was aiming at Chief and Pumpkin.

Gorman took a running leap at the electrified fence. The fence must not have a very high charge, because he clung to it with the tenacity of a blood sucking leech. Hair smoking, he clung to the electrified surface, shrieking at the top of his lungs.

Thankfully, Mordecai arrived before Gorman managed to climb any higher and shot him with a tranquilizer dart, knocking the Sasquatch out.

Mordecai politely suggested I either leave or move to another part of the ranch. He said, Sasquatch remember things. I snorted and said he worried too much. I certainly wasn't worried.

I mean really, Kerry, one of my best friends and her husband, Mick, are vampires. Even if Gorman managed to escape from his pen, they could stop Gorman.

:face palm:

Next time, I'll listen to the old vampire's advice. Please, don't tell Mordecai I'll listen to him. Like most vampires, his ego is already mammoth sized.

It was nearly 3:00 AM when I heard a soft scratching sound at my window. I knew it was three in the morning, because the red numbers glowing on my ceiling said so. I hate being woke-up by weird noises. It's usually a chirping cricket or a buzzing morag stuck in the window screen. That drives me nuts.

I stumbled out of bed and lifted the window, before looking out. Yes, I know, how dumb was that, but I never thought about. Honest, I didn't!

I came face to face with Gorman. His eyes glowed green and he shrieked at me. That dual tone scream that announces a Sasquatch is on the hunt.

Death looked me in the face and shrieked, sending shards of icy terror through my chest.

Oh yeah, I didn't know I could move that fast. I flew away from that window.

I scrambled backward, screeching at the top of my lungs. Chief's barking mingled with my blood curdling screams and Gorman's shrieks.

Gorman plowed through the flimsy screen, ignoring Chief and came straight at me.

Thank goodness for Kerry and Mick. They came running into my bedroom and attacked Gorman.

Two full grown - very angry - vampires were way more than Gorman planned on. He squealed like a stuck pig and dashed out the window. Actually, he took the entire window frame and part of the wall with him.

All is well that ends well. No one got hurt and Mordecai moved Gorman to his ranch in New Mexico. Believe it or not, Mordecai said we were still welcome at the ranch.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Would someone please tell me how one dog can cause so much chaos? Honestly, I can't very well wring his neck for nearly getting me killed. Can I?

When I take a trip, my German shepherd, Chief, goes with me. He loves it when I visit friends in Clan Valley.

A group of us met at Mordecai's Sasquatch Ranch on Lake Eufaula. It's one of our all-time favorite destinations. With cabins, jet skis, boats, grills, horses, wyvern… well, you get the idea. They have everything for a fun getaway.

Well, last night we started the long weekend with a swim in the lake and a cookout. Yes, it is hot, but we purchased a gallon of cooling charm. A cooling charm must be used under a roof or a tree, something that provides shade. You see, a cooling charm is fairy made. It comes in quart and gallon sized. Simply spray the liquid on the ground and on the ceiling (or tree) and ta-da the area drops by twenty degrees! I love it!

Anyway, Chief and Pumpkin (Kerry's Pomeranian) were running around the camp site causing more racket than ten marching bands. I finally bribed Kerry's daughter, Angela, to take them for a walk.

No harm, no foul… I thought.

Mordecai's Ranch raises Sasquatch or Big Foot as many of my mundane readers call them. Sasquatch hate being teased and they remember everything. I mean, I tossed Big Tom (a Sasquatch stud) a chunk of meat three years ago and didn’t feed the Sasquatch in the pen next to him.

Gorman remembered! (Gorman was the Sasquatch in the pen next to Big Tom) Every time I visit Mordecai's, Gorman starts howling at me. It doesn't matter that I've fed him since that first encounter; he refuses to come near anything I feed him.

Where was I? Oh, right! Sasquatch are vindictive wretched monsters!

The water troughs in the Sasquatch pens are built four feet off the ground with a permanent high-powered cooling charm painted on them. The high-powered charm drops the water temperature and the area beneath the trough by thirty degrees!

To stay cool, Gorman had crawled under his water trough, leaning his back against the fence, ignoring the people watching him.

I really love my dog, but I could kill him right about now. Chief wiggled under the first security fence, sneaking up behind Gorman as if the Sasquatch was a rabbit, not a freaking huge monster.

Pumpkin, the teeny-tiny Pomeranian followed.

How they both remained silent is beyond my understanding; they are never quiet. They stood a foot behind the nine-foot creature and barked. Loudly.

:Sigh: I'm not sure Mordecai will ever let Chief visit again.

Gorman shot straight up, plowing into the underside of the metal water trough. The trough flew up and straight back down, smacking Gorman a second time on the top of the head.

The dogs barked madly.

Angela screamed for help.

The Sasquatch on either side of Gorman's pen howled and pointed at Gorman, giving the equivalent of a Sasquatch laugh.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Before I tell you today's news, I have a quick self-serving plug: Stolen, book three in the Song of the Sídhí series is now available!

Short description: Every vampire has a destined lifeMate, a mate who is a perfect match, but what happens when that perfect mate is stolen?

Okay, thanks for listening to my plug!

The heat wave continues to worsen, affecting people and animals.

Today I'm posting my report from Tulsa, Oklahoma in Trellick Valley. For anyone concerned over my well being, I've been assured that as a member of the press I will not be detained. You see, Trellick Valley is under independent ruler ship, but it is also part of the Dhark Empire. They keep mundane humans as blood slaves.

Anyway, the reason I'm here is to cover the early migration of Canadian geese.

Well, geese that have been Changed by synth crystal don't follow natural rules of nature.

Fifty percent larger than their brethren in the mundane world, Changed Canadian geese have red bellies, bills, and feet. They have several rows of quarter-inch serrated teeth and their eyes glow red in the dark.

In addition to grain, they supplement their diet with small rodents and fish.

Several flocks have converged on the Arkansas River. A report from Trellick Fish & Wildlife estimate over a thousand birds are in a ten-mile radius.

In this heat, food is growing slim. I don't think the area will have a mouse or squirrel problem for years to come. Unfortunately, with the lack of food the geese have turned the next easy meal. Many have developed a taste for domestic animals, specifically cats, toy dogs, and puppies.

Reports of family pets gone missing are flooding Trellick Guard Headquarters. The guards hands are tied, as Canadian geese are a protected species of the Dhark Empire.

Lord Trellick petitioned the Dhark High Court to lift the protection, but his request was denied. He is urging residents to keep all small children and family pets inside until the flock moves south. Anyone caught killing a goose will fall under Dhark Empirical law, not Trellick law.

The penalty for killing a goose is five years in a silver collar and sold into five years of slavery to the highest bidder.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

For everyone following the History of Sídhí it will continue in a few days. J

The temperatures have reached the scorching hot level, so have tempers. Mixing Sídhí, hot temps & hotter tempers is so not a good idea.

Today it hit 115 degrees and the weatherman has forecast triple digits all week. I am so very ready for fall and cooler weather.

Anyway, as the temperature rises, so do tempers especially when speaking of a vampire's rather volatile state of mind. Throw in the fact the vampire in question had his very pregnant lifeMate with him and it was an instant recipe for disaster.

Breaking up fights between angry vampires is nothing new to Clan Guardians, but yesterday may have been a first for them.

As many of you know, I live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (Earth) which is a Sídhí Hot Spot. Specifically, a Hot Spot is where several valleys have gateways that open onto Earth. I'm sure I don't know about all the gateways, but I'm aware of ten in a hundred-mile radius of the Tulsa Metro.

Three gateways open from Clan Valley, one from The Dhark Valley, two from Trellick Valley (and everyone knows Trellick Valley is allied with the Dhark Valley,) three from Ozark Valley, and one from Dragon Valley.

Well, let me tell you mixing clan vampires, dhark vampires, dhark elves, elves, and dragons all in a small area, an area populated by mundane humans, is a mega-recipe for disaster.

Woodland Hills Mall is one of the most popular shopping areas in Tulsa. On a weekend, it's nearly impossible to find a parking spot near a door. A Wednesday should not have presented a problem, but for whatever reason the mall was jam packed full.

Take 115 degrees, reflecting off all that asphalt and add in no parking and the temperature at the mall rose into the volcano range or maybe that was the tempers. At this point, it's rather hard to distinguish the two.

Thomas Andrews, a clan vampire who happens to be a great, great, great nephew of High Councilman Warren Andrews, circled the parking lot for twenty minutes searching for a spot. His lifeMate, Shawna, is fifteen weeks pregnant and he didn't want her walking that far in the heat. Of course, she refused to get out at the door. Understandable, as most lifeMates prefer a little discomfort over being separated from their mates, especially while visiting Earth.

For the mundanes among us, a Sídhí pregnancy has a gestation of sixteen weeks. To say that Shawna can't see her toes is a mild understatement.

Thomas finally found a spot and started to pull into it when Marvin LispPertle, a dhark vampire (also known as an exile vampire or a blood-drinking vampire,) darted into the spot nearly hitting Thomas' car with his Corvette.

The shouting match quickly turned into a fight. The details are mixed. Thomas and Shawna say Marvin threw the first punch and Marvin accuses Thomas of kicking him first. The cameras were unable to catch the beginning of the fight as they were behind a Hummer.

The first image caught on tape is Thomas tossing Marvin a hundred feet, slamming him into a cement wall.

At that point, Shawna called Clan Guardians.

Before the guardians had time to arrive, Marvin picked up several smaller cars and began tossing them at Thomas. Marvin slammed a Honda Accord into Thomas' Lexus. Shawna was still inside.

Thomas went insane. Do not ever threaten the life of a lifeMate, not ever.

In a matter of seconds, Thomas tossed the Accord off the Lexus and ripped the roof off the black car. The back seat was crushed, but front was relatively undamaged.

Shawna was terribly shaken up, but other than a few scrapes she is fine.

Once Thomas assured himself Shawna was okay, he attacked Marvin.

By this time, mall security had arrived closely followed by Tulsa police. They pulled guns and shouted on bullhorns, but nothing stopped Thomas' rampage.

Thomas broke Marvin's back, crushed his rib cage, ripped off one arm and a foot before Clan Guardians arrived.

They tried approaching Thomas, but he was too far gone. His vampire instincts had thrown him into a frenzy. Shawna finally coaxed him away from Marvin, getting him into the back of a guardian's SUV.

The Lower Clan Council refused to condemn Thomas' actions, citing he was simply protecting his lifeMate.

Marvin refused a Clan Healer. Once his synth crystal stopped the bleeding, he was transported to the Dhark Valley gateway.

The healer assured me, even without her assistance, Marvin would not have any lasting damage. Depending upon his age, his bones would heal first then his body would start re-growing his lost arm and foot.

I'm under the impression that re-growing a severed limb is rather painful. It might be due to the fact, Guardian Gareth snickered that it served Marvin right for the pain he caused Thomas in attacking his pregnant lifeMate.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Before I continue with the series on Sídhí History, I wanted to tell you a quick bit of actual news.

There has been a report of a two vampires fighting at Woodland Hills Mall located in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Earth.) I don't have all the details, but I heard mall security caught the fight on video. Yeah, no way a mundane could miss vampires fighting, not when they can teleport and can pick-up cars.

Anyway, when I find-out the details I'll let you know!

Sídhí History - part III

Picking up from yesterday, the people of Sídhí didn't comprehend the magnitude of the changes their bodies would soon go through.

At first, the most apparent change was physical appearance. White-haired grannies woke-up with satiny soft dark hair and young bodies.

Wait a minute. I'm getting ahead of myself. First, you must understand the people of Earth and the people of Sídhí are similar, yet different. We are all human, to one extent or another.

On Earth, race is defined by a person's appearance and geography.

On Sídhí, before synth crystal was released - when people lived and died of natural causes - race was also defined by appearance and geography, but not in the same way.

The people of The Elfhiem Empire had slightly pointed ears; a very large percentage of the population was highly intelligent. They tended to be highly educated, preferring mental games to physical. To be an elf was synonymous with arrogance.

The people of The Northern VamPyre had slightly pointed canine teeth. Overall, most vampires were very physically active, preferring any type of outdoor game or activity to sitting around and reading a book.

The people of the Atlantis Continent were mixed in their physical appearances. Fairy lived in clans that specialized in craft, war, art, or served the royals. Each sub-clan had very specific characteristics. The Siren Clan had velvety soft voices to the south and harsh guttural voices to the north. The Banshee Clan had blue hair. The Land Clan had dark brown eyes and stubby noses. That's only naming a few; the Atlantis Continent was home to hundreds of different sub-clans.

The people of the Shifting Highlands had amber eyes. They lived in clans. Most clans were nomadic, traveling from mountains to the sea, traveling the same routes year after year. Normally, they camped near a river or natural spring sharing the water with whatever wild animals lived in the area.

The people of Gnome Grotto had pale yellow eyes and brilliant red hair. They lived in groups called clutches, within the numerous deserted caverns under the Continent of WormWood.

I could write all day. There are many more races, but I believe five races will be sufficient for the purpose of this article.

To explain how each race changed, I must back up a bit.

As you know, from the previous articles, The Last Scientist never planned on creating a clean source of power for the dying world of Sídhí. From his preserved diaries, we know more about him than the people of that long ago time.

Not only did he provide the basic research for synth crystal, he also provided the rarest of all ingredients, Black Matter. The diaries didn't provide the details of how he manipulated the rare elements. Good thing since I couldn't explain it even if he had!

Essentially, modern day Sídhí scientists believe he took years of genetic and nano research and somehow created a form of programmable nano genetics. He attached these nano genetics to Black Matter at the cellular level.

Sídhí scientist say what he did should have been impossible. It defied every law of science, but it worked.

Monday, August 1, 2011

The liquid substance was almost clear, milky-white. It poured like water. It had no odor. When heated it did not get hot, refusing to boil it remained room temperature. The crystal could not be ignited, nor could it be used to power the abandoned nuclear reactors. It did not react like any form of known energy.

So, why did the scientists believe it was pure energy? Simple, when placed in a vacuum it expanded. It did not release any by-product, keeping its original elemental structure while increasing its physical size.

They believed it was a clean source of energy. All they had to do was figure out the trigger, how to make it work, how to make it power the dying world.

Late one night, the original scientist disappeared with a full container of the synth crystal. The next morning, they found his note. There was no synth crystal in the facility; he had dumped the entire contents into the emergency waste chute. No one knew how he managed to by-pass dozens of protocols, dumping the substance into the cavern system below the research facility.

His note was actually an admission of guilt. His research into a theoretical power source had never meant to replace the world's exhausted energy. No, the synth crystal contained a lifetime's work of genetic engineering among other technologies such as Nano-engineering and the rare element of Black Matter.

While the remaining scientists tried to recreate the synth crystal, the military made every attempt to reach to dumped liquid, but it was unrecoverable seeming to have disappeared into thin air.

The dumped synth crystal drained into the deepest of chasms.

As the people of Sídhí were soon to find out there was more than a single way for synth crystal to expand. Deep in the soil, it expanded filling natural caverns and crevasses. It reacted exactly as the original scientist, whom we now call the Last Scientist or the First Ancient One, planned. The synth crystal leaked into the water table as it flowed through the earth, splitting time and time again.

People everywhere became infected. The changes in their physical bodies appeared rapidly as each of them went through twenty-one days of 'puberty.' Their bodies changed, growing younger in some cases and maturing in others.

Networked Blogs!

I use images from Dreamstime to create all of my book covers. Why? Because Dreamstime offers royalty free images at reasonable prices!

Disclaimer: This blog is a work of fiction. You, the reader, should understand there is no second dimensional world filled with vampires, shapeshifters, dragons... Sídhí and their adventures have been created from my imagination. Any similarity to a person, place, business, organization, or any other entity is entirely coincidental.

Why did I feel the need to place a disclaimer on an obviously fictional blog? Because no matter how old children become, parents still worry over us. Yes, I'm well over 18 (by several decades) but my mom worried someone would actually believe parts of the blog... Yes, I still do things simply to make my mom happy. :-) I hope you do as well.

Link to Sídhí News & Gossip

I've been told that some blogs don't like for people to link to them. I'm not one of those blogs. If you take the time to link to Sídhí News & Gossip I would love to receive that link. Thank you!